


Grounding

by kathryne



Series: 30 Days of OTP - Bering and Wells [2]
Category: Warehouse 13
Genre: 30 days of OTP, F/F, Synaesthesia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-02
Updated: 2013-06-02
Packaged: 2017-12-13 19:23:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/827928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathryne/pseuds/kathryne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As she begins working at the Warehouse, Helena attempts to hide the effects of her time in the bronzer.</p>
<p>Part of the <a href="http://sapphoshands.tumblr.com/post/42856673999/30daysotp">30 Days of OTP</a> on Tumblr for the prompt "Holding hands."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grounding

**Author's Note:**

> A while ago, Sophie Grace suggested that one potential side effect of the bronzer could be synaesthesia. That thought eventually turned into this, so you can blame/praise her for it. ;)

Artie's voice slid like razorblades across Helena's skin, the feeling vivid enough that she looked down, expecting to see welts springing up over her veins. Nothing; she crossed her arms, trying to erase the impossible sensation. Myka gave her a concerned look, but Helena shook her head slightly and feigned attentiveness.

She slipped out of the room as soon as Artie finished their mission briefing, but wasn't quick enough to avoid hearing him hold Pete back. "Whatever you do, keep an eye on her," Artie said, not bothering to lower his voice, and the razors scraped harder until Helena stepped outside to escape them.

The wind was brisk but warm. It soothed her abused skin enough that she could almost ignore the babble of sound it also summoned – impossible sound, century-old sound, echoes of a past from which she could not hide. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply until her senses realigned. They always did, eventually, and the periods of synaesthesia were decreasing slowly the longer she was unbronzed; still, she shivered, disturbed by this evidence of neurological disarray.

"Helena?"

Myka's hand on her shoulder was just that, a simple touch without any other sensory elements intruding, and Helena opened her eyes gratefully. "Ready to go, darling?" she asked, deliberately cutting off any questions.

Myka smiled back and let the moment pass, but her eyes remained wary.

Helena made it through the long car ride and the afternoon's investigations without a relapse, but halfway through dinner her luck ran out. First the merest reverberations began, so quiet that they were indistinguishable from the restaurant's fan; they intensified with each bite of stew until the taste-sound was clanging through her head as if she stood inside Big Ben's tower as midnight struck. She set down her fork, appetite gone, and excused herself to the room she and Myka were sharing, ignoring the confused looks that followed her.

Earlier experiments had taught her that while sensory deprivation was the fastest way to end the synaesthetic periods, the experience inevitably triggered severe anxiety and was... not particularly conducive to relaxation. Helena compromised by turning the television on, but quietly, before collapsing on the bed with an arm over her eyes. The gentle murmur caused pale lights to flicker behind her closed lids, but it gave her something to focus on as she tried to regain control of her own body.

The sound was also just loud enough to cover Myka's arrival. Helena didn't realize she'd returned until the mattress dipped under her weight.

"Are you all right?" Myka asked, sweeping Helena's hair off her face and tucking it behind her ear.

The touch of Myka's skin flooded Helena's mouth with the taste of cool water; she breathed in gratefully as the feeling washed through her body. Catching Myka's hand in hers, she brought it to her lips and pressed a kiss on the palm. "Just fine, darling," she said, blinking languidly up at Myka's concerned face. "I was merely waiting for you to arrive." She ran her hand up Myka's arm to her neck, cupping it and urging her down.

Their lips met and the soothing ripples of sensation moved outward, across Helena's body, forcing all other thoughts from her head. Her skin tingled; she kissed Myka harder, tugging at her shirt, seeking more contact. She ran her hand over the slight curve of Myka's belly and sighed with pleasure. The more they touched, the clearer her head became, the more in control of herself she felt.

Myka smiled into the kiss and shifted sideways, stretching out on the bed. For once, she didn't question Helena further; she too had had a long day, and Helena recognized that it made her slightly reckless.

Myka curved one hand around the base of Helena's skull, fingers tightening just slightly in her hair; the other hand grasped Helena's arse, pulling their bodies together. She slid her thigh between Helena's legs, tugging at her knee until she could press Helena down into the mattress.

Helena arched up, rocking against Myka. Pleasure hummed through her, driving the background noises nearly out of her head. She bit Myka's lip and clutched her shoulders, desperate.

Myka broke the kiss, hips still moving, and drew back just enough to see Helena's face. The moment their lips parted, though, Helena's synaesthetic aural hallucinations returned full force. She gasped in surprise and pain.

Myka froze above her. "Helena?" she said, leaning back further.

"No!" Helena wrapped her arms around Myka's waist, clinging to her. Part of her cringed at the desperation she feared she was projecting. Another part cried out for more of the touch that she needed. "Please, darling," she said, undoing the buttons on Myka's blouse with fingers that trembled only slightly. "I'm perfectly all right." Fisting her hands in the fabric, she pulled Myka down on top of her and pressed her lips to Myka's neck. She licked along her tendons, mouthed her pulse point, all the time shoving and pulling at Myka's shirt, greedy for better access to her skin. 

Her persistence was successful: Myka gave in and yanked the shirt the rest of the way off, working her hands under the fabric of Helena's and somehow managing to drag it off without Helena sitting up. The skin-on-skin contact sparked a burst of heat low in Helena's belly; she groaned deep in her throat, hands tangled in Myka's hair. Her _need_ drove the hallucinations further out of her head. "More," she whispered, and she could feel Myka's smile against the curve of her cheekbone.

They struggled out of the rest of their clothes, limbs tangling and making things more complicated, and Myka's infectious laughter at their own absurdity cleared Helena's head further. By the time they were naked, she was enough in control of herself to turn Myka on her back and straddle her.

Leaning down, she licked and bit across Myka's torso, savouring the heat of her body. Helena drew spirals around Myka's nipple, first with a finger, then her tongue; then she took the nipple into her mouth and used her teeth, softly at first, but progressively harder until Myka was writhing beneath her and arching up from the mattress. Her hair was splayed wildly across the pillow; with her flushed cheeks, she looked debauched, out of control.

Helena sat back, running the pads of her fingers lightly over Myka's skin. She drew idle patterns, experimenting with the noises she could cause Myka to make, but testing too how little contact she could have before the synaesthesia threatened to take hold again. Myka squirmed, and Helena felt herself slipping; she stilled, palms flat along Myka's sides.

"Tease," Myka panted, reaching out. Her arm hit the nightstand and a book fell to the floor with a thump. The sound lodged itself in Helena's brain once more; she shut her eyes, trying desperately to focus on the woman beneath her.

Myka took advantage of Helena's momentary distraction, flipping them over and pinning Helena down. "You're gonna regret that," she said, smirking, and pressed a kiss to Helena's shoulder.

She lingered there, sucking a love-mark into existence, before moving lower, deliberately avoiding most of Helena's erogenous zones. It was almost enough to drive Helena completely away from contemplation of her own inner processes, save that when Myka drew back fully, the noise still returned. Frustrated, Helena swung her legs up and around Myka's hips, pinning Myka in place. 

"I need you to _touch_ me," she said roughly. Shifting, she ground her hips against Myka's belly, chasing the friction she needed. 

"I am touching you," Myka said, licking the curve of Helena's breast. 

Helena normally loved Myka's playful side, but tonight it was maddening, leaving her temper walking a fine edge. Reaching out quickly, she wrapped her hand around Myka's wrist and forced it down until Helena could press against it. Even the clumsy brush of Myka's fingers made Helena hiss sharply.

"Touch me _here_ ," Helena half-commanded, half-begged. "Myka, I need you inside me." It was the only thing she could think of that might be enough.

Myka's face softened at Helena's demand. She twisted in Helena's grip and Helena let go, allowing Myka to run her fingers along the wet heat of Helena's cunt. They both groaned at the sensation. 

Myka slid further down the bed, pressing a kiss to Helena's belly. Helena could feel herself trembling with need; she fisted her hands in the bedcovers, forcing herself to stillness. When Myka slipped a finger inside her, Helena's head fell back and she whimpered in relief.

Helena's entire world narrowed to that single point of contact. Myka was still slow, meticulous, gentle; she added a second finger, eventually, and the sheer presence of her touch drove Helena higher and higher. There was no room in her head for anything other than the shocking pleasure of Myka's fingers, over and over, rubbing just right, and Myka's hair trailing lower still.

Suddenly, Myka slid her fingers away. Helena cried out, bereft, but after a moment Myka's mouth replaced them. She licked broad strokes into Helena's cunt; her tongue pressed and curled and Helena's hips chased the sensation, rocking up wildly. She could feel the orgasm building within her. Myka's hands settled on her hips, holding her in place, and the pressure merely drove her closer. She ground helplessly against Myka's face, needing her deeper. Myka licked and sucked with abandon, filling the room with the wet sounds of sex, of Helena's shameless wanting.

She reached out blindly and fastened her hand around Myka's, feeling the way Myka's muscles flexed and moved. Myka groaned at the touch; the vibrations traveled through Helena's body and she dug her nails into Myka's hand, desperate in an entirely new way. Myka shifted and pressed her other thumb against Helena's clit, her tongue still working rapidly, and every single extraneous thought disappeared from Helena's head. 

She arched up on the bed, riding a rolling wave of sensation that pulsed from her core to her extremities over and over again. Myka's thumb stilled, but her mouth kept moving, her tongue gliding over Helena's sensitive skin and drawing the orgasm out until Helena's every limb was trembling. Finally Myka sat back, grinning triumphantly. Their fingers were still tangled together; she gave Helena's hand a squeeze.

"Feeling better?" Myka asked, still smirking. Her voice rang in Helena's head, pure and clear and free of any extraneous input. 

Helena smiled back. "I am," she purred. Tugging on Myka's hand, she drew the other woman back up the bed. "Let me show you," she whispered against Myka's lips, her focus entirely restored.


End file.
